Brannon targets Tillis in N.C. debate

Thom Tillis, the frontrunner for the Republican Senate nomination in North Carolina, presented himself as a “practical” conservative Tuesday night during the first debate before the May 6 primary.

His leading opponent, tea party activist Greg Brannon, attacked the state House speaker as softer than him on immigration, health care, education, gun rights and other issues.

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Tillis has consistently led the scattered GOP field in polling and fundraising, and he’s getting more than a million dollars of help from American Crossroads. But public polls have shown him falling far short of the 40 percent he needs from voters in two weeks to avoid a two-way, July 15 runoff. The winner will face Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan this fall.

“We’re all conservatives,” Tillis said midway through the hour-long debate at Davidson College, broadcast on Time Warner Cable systems across the state and sponsored by the state’s two largest newspapers. “You have conservative choices in this primary.”

While mostly playing it safe, Tillis staked out a series of positions on the right that could hurt him in the general election: agreeing with the other three candidates on stage that climate change is not an established fact, opposing a federal minimum wage and suggesting that he might want to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

While Brannon repeatedly touted his endorsements from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tillis highlighted the support he’s receiving from National Right to Life, the Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association. He noted that he’s cut taxes and regulations during his years as speaker.

“I’ve been the leader of a conservative revolution in Raleigh,” he said. “We need that kind of leadership in Raleigh taken to Washington.”

Charlotte pastor Mark Harris, who has been backed by Mike Huckabee, remained low key through the debate. In his closing statement, he cited a recent poll to argue that he is the most electable option against Hagan. Former Army nurse Heather Grant, a dark horse, also met the requirements to appear on stage.

Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based Democratic robopolling firm, found Tillis in first place with 18 percent earlier this month. Brannon was second with 15 percent, and Harris was third with 11 percent.

When an audience member asked if convicted felons and the mentally ill should be able to own guns, Brannon suggested that people with post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of temporary mental illness like postpartum depression should. He noted that he is backed by the Gun Owners of America, which he called “more conservative than Thom’s NRA.”

Tillis returned fire. “I think Mr. Brannon just said yes to your question, which I think is irresponsible,” he said. “You can’t put a gun in the hands of someone who represents a danger to themselves or society. … Folks, this is being [a] practical conservative.”

Brannon chimed in to clarify that the decision should be made by local law enforcement, not the feds.

Brannon presented himself as uncompromising, praising Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for the push to defund Obamacare that many blame for the federal government shutdown last October.

Tillis aggressively pushed back when called soft on health care. He noted that one of the first bills he shepherded as speaker instructed the state attorney general to join the lawsuit against the federal government over Obamacare and that he has blocked Medicaid expansion.

“We’ve done everything within our legal power to try and stop this bill, this disaster,” said Tillis. “I believe I’m going to be the 51st senator, in the majority, who is going to repeal this bill.”

Harris argued that the option of trying to again “defund” the health care law should still be on the table in the next Congress.

“I don’t think we can ever give up on the opportunity to continue to keep this before the American people until it is repealed,” he said.

All four candidates said they oppose Common Core education standards. Brannon said he believe in no federal and state education standards.

“Common Core became law under Thom’s watch,” he said. “1978 destroyed education with the Department of Education.”

Tillis said he opposes Common Core and he identified the U.S. Education Department when asked to identify a federal cabinet agency he would eliminate.

“We existed for more than a century without one,” said Tillis, offering a nuanced explanation. “That’s the first department I’d look at … At some point, I’d wonder whether or not it needs to exist in its current form.”

Asked the same question, Brannon said he would eliminate that and the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Federal Reserve and the Internal Revenue Service.

On the minimum wage, Brannon said a federal standard is unconstitutional. Tillis responded: “If there’s going to be a minimum wage, it’s a decision that needs to be made by the states – not the federal government.”

American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-backed super PAC, has spent more than $1 million on ads boosting Tillis ahead of the primary. Many D.C. Republicans believe he is the only candidate who could defeat Hagan.

Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic group, has made substantial buys attacking Tillis over a sex scandal in his legislative office. (Two of his aides left after having affairs with lobbyists, including his roommate.) This issue did not come up during Tuesday’s debate.

Democrats – from American Bridge to the Hagan camp to the state party – focused almost exclusively on Tillis in their press releases during the debate.

The candidates will meet again on Wednesday night in a second debate.

In a lightning round at the end of the debate, the candidates were asked to pick their favorite style of North Carolina barbecue. Three picked Lexington, which is built around a vinegar-based red sauce.